The second annual Portland Mini Maker Faire is gearing up for September 14 and 15! We will welcome over a hundred ingenious and inventive makers from Portland and the surrounding area to OMSI this weekend for a showcase of their unique skills. Here are just a few of the makers you can expect to see.

Have you heard about OMSI’s Mini Maker Faire? Wired’s Geek Dad Jonathan Liu advised parents last year, “It’s definitely worth your while to take the kids — you’re sure to find some excellent activities, and I guarantee you’ll find at least one thing that will amaze you.”

I can't be emphatic enough about this point: Maker Faire is a total, total BLAST. A blast blasting into another blast, actually. It's infinitely worth attending in any of its incarnations in ANY location. Let me explain why.

Making things is our forte at MapleXO. We’ve been chopping up old skateboards for years now, turning them from dumpster-bound trash into finely-finished jewelry, accessories, and other goodies. We found our way to this craft after years of fiddling and toying with whatever we could get our anxious hands on. Remember Dad’s $40 desk pen that miraculously disassembled itself into a seemingly infinite number of pieces? Yeah, WAY more pieces than should ever be able to fit into an object so small. Well, that was our doing.

Why should you care about the ocean? While oceans cover over 70% of Earth’s surface area, we have explored less than 10% this vast region to date. The ocean helps regulate the planet’s temperature and weather systems while providing valuable natural resources and nourishment to us. (Research provided by NOAA)